Second Nature

Adam Miller founded Revel Bikes, sold it to private equity, then bought it back when the brand went bankrupt. We've seen this same program play out so many times in the past few years - but what makes this story different is that Adam bought his original company back and relaunched it. In this conversation, Adam takes us through the entire journey, with a bunch of behind-the-scenes insights. Show...

Imagine running a travel agency in the year 2020 - and not only surviving, but finding new ways to continue growing the business. Travel is something that connects everyone in the outdoor industry (and beyond), and in this conversation, Leigh gives us a behind-the-scenes look at one of the largest adventure travel agencies in the world. Show Notes: Leigh Barnes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lcbarne...

Dylan and Aaron get back together for a catch-up after Aaron's latest trip to China. Outdoor sports are booming over there and brands are taking notice. In this conversation, Aaron shares all of his notes from everything he saw over there - and a glimpse into the future. Show Notes: Super Rider: https://www.youtube.com/@SuperRiderTV Microsoft - Acquired Episode: https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/mi...

Chelsea Sodaro broke into the mainstream when she won the Ironman World Championship in 2022, but it's fair to say her accomplishments outside of that race have been just as impressive. She has created space for conversations around mental health in sports, parenting, and so much more. Her approach is best summed up by the mantra she has written on her bike: "YES YES YES". Chelsea continues to ins...

Amie Engerbretson is a big mountain skier, director, producer, and so much more. We dig into the tension between being an athlete and having influence through content and social media. We get tactical and talk through proposals and project building, including the approach that athletes can take to develop and extend their careers - and how this approach is essentially a subsidized education for th...

Steve Holmberg joins the podcast to dive deeper into his presentation notes from TrailCon on the state of the trail running industry. We go beyond his talking points and dig into the details and direction for his top nine trends, including the future of athletes in the space. Show Notes: Steve Holmberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenholmberg/ Insight Accelerator: https://www.stephenholmberg.c...

In 2015, Mario Fraioli launched The Morning Shakeout, a weekly newsletter about running and related topics. After recently completing 500 weeks of consecutive publishing, he's sharing his journey, experience and insights with us on the podcast. Mario talks about the balance between his coaching and content duties, as well as his ability to keep his plate clear of distractions to maintain focus. Sh...

Katie Doherty and Emily Holland have created something special with Founded Outdoors - a place for entrepreneurs in the outdoor industry to connect, learn, and grow. With a front row seat to the journeys of outdoor founders and entrepreneurs, Katie and Emily shared plenty of insight, stories, and inspiration during this conversation. Founded Outdoors: https://foundedoutdoors.com/ Katie Doherty: ht...

Royi Metser is the founder and CEO of Avelo, and they're on a mission to build the world's smartest running shoe to prevent injury, optimize training, and connect the dots between our effort and results. In this conversation, we dig into the founding insights and the journey of launching this company - as well as their next steps for the official launch (and beyond). Show Notes: Avelo: https://www...

Colleen Quigley is no stranger to racing - competing at the highest level in the Olympics. After accomplishing some big goals, Colleen has turned her attention to a new goal: founding Meridia, a track team with a completely different setup that focuses on the individual talents and gives them room and resources to thrive. Steeple Squigs: https://www.instagram.com/steeple_squigs/ Peace Over Podiums...

Doug Emslie is a global leader in the events, tradeshow, and exhibition industry. He's the former CEO of Tarsus, which sold for $1 Billion in 2023 to Informa. Now he's the Founder of Cuil Bay Capital , an investment vehicle focused on entrepreneurial event businesses. He is also one of the Co-Founders of TrailCon , the new trail running conference and festival debuting June 24th & 25th, 2025.    B...

Alex King launched his brand Terignōta less than a year ago, showing the industry that it is possible to deliver high quality running apparel without breaking the bank. In this extremely transparent conversation, Alex shares all of the details of the business. As a first-time founder, Alex shares all of the lessons he's learned, as well as his plans for the future of Terignōta. Show Notes: Terignō...

Andreas Tzortzis joins Second Nature to share the insights from writing "Not A Playbook" alongside WeTransfer founder Damian Bradfield. Having just returned from India, the conversation starts with a discussion around emerging markets and the brands within them - and how they can borrow the approach from WeTransfer and the lessons in "Not A Playbook". Show Notes: Andreas Tzortzis: https://www.link...

Eric Lagerstrom recently released "Look For Things Where You Can Find Them" - a film that gave him the opportunity to share his perspective on triathlon outside the tape of a traditional race course. Not only did he achieve that, but he dramatically raised the bar for the entire endurance sports community. Eric Lagerstrom and Paula Findlay have been building a large community with That Triathlon L...

Yuri Hauswald has kept one foot in both worlds for the better part of two decades: working professional and professional athlete. As the Elite Athlete and Community Manager for GU Energy Labs, Yuri has the perspective for aspiring athletes, as well as athletes looking to make moves for the next stage in their career. Aaron and Yuri compare notes on their experiences working with athletes - and how...

Second Nature Turns 100! We made it! 100 episodes in just over a year of podcasting, and we are so grateful to everyone for listening, contributing, and joining us on this journey. Episode 100 is an AMA-style episode with questions provided by the Second Nature community - and it includes an important announcement about the future of the podcast. Thanks again for being here for the past 100 episod...

Jason Bolt has successfully built and sold companies in the outdoor industry, but more importantly, he's been a mentor to many well-known brands in the space. As the founder of Revant Optics, he shares his journey, complete with the ups and downs along the way. This conversation ends with a powerful call to action for the entire outdoor industry, offering a solution to taking care of the outdoor p...

Lisa Hassig is the Global Brand + Sports Partnerships Director for AG1. While AG1 has partnered with some of the biggest athletes and creators on their partnerships, we took the conversation in a slightly different direction to share the lifecycle of a collaboration. There are five distinct phases to a solid partnership, and in today's episode, Lisa shares her best practices (and some stories) for...

Daniel Marrett is the global Director of Marketing and Strategy at Ciele, and has been with the brand for nearly six years as they've gone through every iteration to arrive at this point. During the conversation, we learn the origin of the name, dig into the expansion beyond hats, and go deep on what it truly means to collaborate as a brand. Show Notes: Daniel Marrett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/...

Christina Henderson, the director of both The Running Event and Switchback, joins Second Nature to talk about the behind the scenes of two important events in the outdoor industry. As a 10-year veteran of TRE, she shares stories and details about the event - as well as the future of Switchback, a show that is focused on the outdoor industry (running and beyond) that is launching as a standalone ev...

Sam Degenhard is the Founder and CEO of Campfire Ranch. Like most of us, Sam dreamed of one day launching a business in the outdoor industry. His approach to taking "the leap" involved graduate school, using the dedicated time to hone his concept and approach, preparing as best he could for the launch of the business. As things typically go, the universe had a different timeline in mind. Find out...

Arc'teryx has officially launched a line of trail running footwear, created in collaboration with their athletes. Josh Herr and Kat Drew join the podcast to talk about the process of bringing Arc'teryx's new footwear to life, how they incorporated athlete feedback, and the future of product development in trail running. Arc'teryx: https://arcteryx.com/ Josh Herr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-h...

Two of the biggest events in the bike industry are the Life Time Grand Prix and Sea Otter Classic, and today's guest is Sarah Stutman, who has played a big role in both of them. We dive into mass participation events, where growth is happening in the endurance event space, and what the future looks like for mountain biking, gravel racing and trail running. Show Notes: Sarah Stutman: https://www.li...

After the recent discussion about Outside, we realized that we had more to say - and more appropriately, a more constructive discussion about how we would look at the situation and handle it if it were up to us. It's a back-and-forth about open versus closed content ecosystems - as well as a callback to a favorite Galaxy Brain idea that we've been kicking around. Escape Collective Article: https:/...

Max Lenk joined X-Bionic three years ago as the established brand was transitioning into its next phase. Or as Max calls it: "the re-startup". Max and the X-Bionic team have brought meaningful evolution to the brand, most recently launching a footwear category with their Terraskin trail running shoes. Max Lenk: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilian-lenk-1abba4152/ X-Bionic: https://www.x-bionic.c...